New Jersey Devils: Andy Greene Should Remain Team’s Captain
By Nick Villano
With Taylor Hall’s dominance, there’s talk that he should take over as the team’s captain. While he’s definitely the team’s best player and leader, taking the “C” off Andy Greene is an unnecessary move.
The New Jersey Devils captaincy is something that’s not taken lightly over their history, but it’s almost been snakebitten since Scott Stevens retired. He held onto the “C” from 1992 until he was done playing hockey during the 2004 lockout. Sure, Scott Niedermayer wore the letter while he was out with a concussion in 2003-04, but he knew who the captain was if he were to return.
Since Stevens left, it’s been a mess to be honest. Patrik Elias was named captain in 2006, but lasted just over a year before he was stripped. We’ll get back to that later.
Jamie Langenbrunner took over the honor, and was decent for the first year. He followed that with a down year then was traded back to the Dallas Stars the next season.
After him, Zach Parise was named captain. It was a partial move to try and make him a Devil for life, but it did not work. We all know how that ended.
Bryce Salvador took over as captain in the Devils Eastern Conference defense in 2013, but that didn’t go well. Salvador became a shell of his former self, and was a detriment when he was able to play through many injuries.
After Sal retired, things seemed like they were finally getting back to normal. Andy Greene took over as captain. He’s great in the locker room, and helped the Devils through the rebuilding process. Greene is the kind of guy you want leading a locker room.
Despite all Greene does, there’s talk about taking the “C” off the defenseman, and putting it on Taylor Hall. This is a bad idea on multiple fronts.
Let’s go back to that Patrik Elias debacle. Just look at what he told Tom Gulitti when the captaincy came up when Salvador retired.
"“I just thought there should have been more courtesy,” Elias said. “I don’t know if the coach only makes the decision on the captain. We know that wasn’t the case. But, I think I deserved a little bit better, not treatment but just letting me know. Not just take it off and finding out from you guys (the media).”"
Obviously, there’s more to that than just being stripped. Hearing about losing your role as captain from the media sucks. No real way around that. Gulitti wrote that article in 2015. Almost a decade later, there was still a bad taste in a Devils legend’s mouth.
Andy Greene is very likely a Devil for life. If not for want, then for lack of want from the rest of the league. He’s due $10 million over the next two years. It’s highly unlikely teams will give GM Ray Shero a deal he can’t refuse to move his captain.
It was a circus when Elias lost his captaincy. That’s tenfold today. With Twitter being such a huge part of sports coverage, it would be constant opinions. Sports teams are used to being second guessed, but making a drastic move like this is something that can be avoided.
More from Pucks and Pitchforks
- Should New Jersey Devils Try Load Management With Vitek Vanecek?
- New Jersey Devils Will Prove That Last Year Wasn’t A Fluke
- New Jersey Devils: Luke Hughes’ Playmaking Will Outshine His Mistakes
- New Jersey Devils: Chase Stillman’s Performance Causes Concern
- Can Devils Fans Separate Zach Parise Heartbreak From Achievements?
Hall has been amazing this season. He’s legitimately a top-three favorite for the Hart Trophy. Scoring points in 25 straight games is out of this world. There’s no denying who the best player on this team is. That’s not what being a captain is all about.
Hall doesn’t need to be captain. People know his leadership ability without the drama of ripping the “C” off a veteran’s sweater. Also, that could cripple this locker room. It’s basically telling players to pick a side, even if Greene relinquishes the captaincy with pride. The constant questions about the decision will be more than players can handle. It’s not fair to anyone involved to put these players in that position.
Keep Greene as captain. I understand his play fell off this season, but he still puts himself out there when the team needs him most. He had the first fight of his career this season. He’s showing why he’s the captain. No reason to mess with this.